Murnau

We chose to live in Murnau, Germany because it has one of the largest trauma hospitals in Germany and the docs do many endoscopic spine surgeries and it is in a gorgeous part of Germany. We wrestled with the decision because we are 7 hours away from our family.

What we didn't know when we chose Murnau was what gem of a town this is. Murnau is filled with character, culture, rich history and most people live here because they have so chosen this incredible town. People are overall friendly and the minute it is not raining many gather in the pedestrian zone. The photos are mostly from the central part of town, the pedestrian zone. Murnau is at the base of the Alps, as you can see these dramatic mountains from everywhere in town. There are beautiful stores, which I know my shopping friends would indulge, sports stores, I think people know me there, and tons of little cafes. All the cafes seem to have their own little atmosphere and attract regulars. We are close to the Italian border so many of the Italian transplants have cafes, gelato shops and delicious restaurants. Murnau has quite a large Thai population so we can indulge in a truly authentic, wonderful Thai restaurant and traditional Thai massage.

Murnau has a rich history. At the turn of the century, Murnau called the "Blue land" because the artists thought the land had a blue hue. Kandinsky, Franz Marc and Gabrielle Münter were some of the artists who moved here and started the "blue rider" movement. Interestingly for us, we have had a Franz Marc painting for a long time hanging in our home in Denver. So that painting has certainly come to life for me. For Tobi's class project he painted a painting in the style of the Blue Riders. The artist community is still vibrant and adds to Murnau's rich character.

Murnau is also in the Catholic southern bundesland of Bavaria. Everyone greets eachother by saying "Grüß Gott", or greeting G-d. Kids take either Catholic, Protestant or Ethic class as a part of their regular curriculum.

What is special about Murnau?
Tobi: Murnau is special because when you look outside you see nice fresh air and no pollution and no factories. When you are at our house, you live next to a farm. You drive 2 minutes and you are in the Tangelman center, right in town.
Hansi: The cool thing about Murnau is that on one side(of my house) there is a farm and on other side there are houses.
Gia: Murnau is special because it allows you to have more freedom and everyone trusts you to make decisions.
Annika: Murnau is special because it is a tiny town so when you go in the market you know everyone. Another good thing is that all the stores are in the same vicinity.
Peter: I like the pedestrian zone with all the little shops. I like to see the Alps in the background andI like when the sun comes out here.

The special bonus is that our family, Witts and Rüggebergs, visit us often, so we feel like we won the jackpot here!

Fasching

Fasching is carnival in Germany. As US carnival is heavily celebrated as Mareigras in New Orleans, so Fasching festivities are along the river Rhein, i.e. in Dusseldorf and Köln. Last Thursday they celebrated ladys fasching and the women cut he men's ties off. We went to Braunschweig and saw Schoduvel, a parade to shoo the devil away. I loved the political messages floating around, like Angela Merkel's arm through the Greek pig. They also had many floats about nuclear waste and environmental issues, which are omnipresent in the media.

Rosen monday is the name of the festivities on Monday, it doesnt have much to do with roses but they do throw roses. the girls were given roses.

I have not heard the term fat tuesday, but tuesday parties are similar to fat tuesday. My mom was is Garmisch 45 years ago and she remembers fat tuesday like celebration on Garmisch's ski slopes, great.

Our family celebrated tuesday's Fasching with these beautiful horses.

Unlike the US where Ash Wednesday is omnipresent, Ash Wednesday is only in the Catholic regions, like the freistat of Bavaria.

We wish you who celebrate a good, Good Friday.

Road Trip

"On the road again": we travel for Fasching week school break....we drive up north to be with the Witts for Opa's birthday and visit the large extended family, which always takes days. We drive on the autobahn daily. At times the autobahn lives up to its reputation with free moving traffic when you can drive as fast as you like. However, some places on the autobahn have speed limits and then you can sit forever in the dreaded "stau", or traffic jam. Auto navigation systems give you up-to-date fast ways around traffic jams and keep track of actual driving times. NPR had a story on the German navigation system. I felt like some little "candid camera" dwarf was filming us as our navi (photo) lead us around the city of Munich for 2 hours, supposedly avoiding traffic jams. I swear navi lead us in circles and pushed us toward road rage.

After the stau turned our 3 hour trip into 5, we finally arrived at our destination, Rothenburg ob der Tauber. You need to know the full names of the towns because many German towns have the same names. They were named over 1,000 years ago and even during the Roman times, i.e. there are two big cities named Frankfurt. Rothenburg is surrounded by a massive stone wall and moat that welcomed Kings and emperors over 1000 years ago. Rothenburg remained intact through the world wars, so it retains its original medieval feel and now romantic charm. It is primarily a pedestrian town so the kids have a blast running down the original cobblestone streets.

Then we sped up the autobahn to celebrate Peter's father's birthday. Peter is driving like a true German 110 mph in the right lane because you have to get out of the way for the big boys (usually BMW, Porsche, etc) cruising around 120-130 mph, much faster. Unlike the US, Germans come by the birthday person's house for cake, coffee and food. So the birthday person can end up entertaining and making food for visitors all day.